I need to choose between MIT, Rice, UVA, William and Mary, Washington and Lee, and Vanderbilt. The cost is not a factor and I think I would like to double major in engineering and business and go on to grad school but I'm not positive about that yet. Thanks

Rankings don't mean anything, but put MIT's reputation (especially in engineering) against any of those other schools for jobs, internships, grad schools, etc. and it's not even close. Boston is awesome, MIT is a great school and a great place to be - definitely go there.

I have to disagree with the other posters - all the schools are fine for what you want. You'll have contacts anywhere you go, and if you go to grad school it doesn't matter (if you get good grades, you'll be fine). Go where you want to go.

I would say that since Engineering and Business are both areas where bigger programs with stronger funding and more post-grad networks are important, go with one of the Universities over Washington and Lee. William and Mary just isn't the caliber of the others, so I would rule that out too. As for those left, I'm looking at Rice, so I'm prejudiced, but I would say that Rice offers great programs with strong community, if thats something that is important to you. Make sure you spend at least a couple days at UVA or Vanderbilt before chosing one of those since the campuses have VERY southern feels to them. If academics are by far your biggest factor, go with MIT. But I think that if you want a great education with a smaller, closer community, Rice might have the edge. Good luck.

- Second oldest U.S. university - Oldest U.S. law school - Birthplace of Phi Beta Kappa - Thomas Jefferson's alma mater - Most selective U.S. public university - Third highest SAT scores in the South (only Duke and Rice are higher) - Highest entering student GPAs in Virginia - Fastest growing university endowment in Virginia - Best physics, history and biology departments in Virginia

As you can see, William & Mary has an amazing academic tradition. Yes, the grading scale is somewhat deflationary and the course offerings are not as extensive as some other Southern schools, but William & Mary is a school high on tradition which doesn't subscribe to fads where everyone graduates cum laude and there is a supermarket of course offerings. The school is committed to the British university model which is human-scale as opposed to other university models which focus on research and increasing enrollments. W&M may not be for everyone but a degree from there has timeless substance, something you can't find from most other U.S. schools which are constantly trying to reposition or recreate themselves.